1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to application Ser. No. 744,675 entitled "Dump Bucket for a Wet/Dry Vacuum System" filed on Nov. 24, 1976, and assigned to the common assignee.
This invention pertains to vacuum cleaning systems for cleaning rugs, floors, drapes, furniture, etc., but not exclusively, to a hot water extraction system of the type conventionally known as a steam cleaner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hot water vacuum extraction systems normally employ a source of hot water which is supplied under pressure in the form of a fine spray against the surface of a rug or floor to be cleaned by means of a nozzle fixed to one side of a vacuum head. The vacuum head contains a narrow slot subjected to vacuum pressure, whereby the hot water and the accumulated dirt from the cleaning action applied to the rug or floor is vacuum removed through the head and passes to a dump bucket subjected to vacuum pressure and connected to the head by way of a flexible pipe and/or wand. The flow of air and accumulated liquid (dirty hot water) is normally discharged through a nozzle within the sealed, dump bucket, whereby the liquid (dirty water) accumulates within the bottom of the dump bucket after separation from the air, which air passes outwardly of the dump bucket through a hollow riser tube which extends upwardly from the bottom of the dump bucket and whose open upper end terminates short of the domed top of the dump bucket.
Dump buckets of this general type are shown, for example, in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,524 issued Oct. 14, 1975. In order to increase the capacity of the dump bucket which must be periodically dumped as the dirty water accumulates within the container during cleaning of a given surface area of the floor or rug to a degree depending upon the capacity of the container and the size of the cleaner, the dump bucket of the referred to patent incorporates an annular baffle ring or flange which is fixed to the sidewall of the container beneath the domed top and below the point of discharge of the nozzle which returns the dirty water to the dump bucket and sprays it onto the interior surface of that dump bucket such that the air is separated and the dirty water flows down over the annular flange or ring to accumulate within the bottom of the dump bucket. The annular ring has integral strut means extending across the open center of the ring from one side to the other and intersecting the top of the vertical hollow riser tube which projects through an aperture within the strut means. Thus, a portion of the strut means surrounding the riser tube acts as a second baffle for the dirty water accumulating within the dump tank to prevent particularly at the relatively high velocity of air movement through the dump bucket under applied vacuum pressure, the dirty water from splashing into the open end of the hollow riser tube and reaching the source of vacuum pressure, normally constituted by a blower positioned below the dump tank and in fluid communication with the bottom end of the hollow riser tube at the point where it surrounds an aperture within the bottom of the dump bucket.
In copending application Ser. No. 744,675 referred to above, a similar dump bucket to that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,524 is employed, except in this case, rather than the nozzle returning dirty water to the interior of the dump bucket and simply spraying dirty water against the interior surface of the dump bucket above the annular ring or flange projecting radially inward from the sidewall of the dump bucket, a pair of concentric, radially spaced vertical tubes are provided. One of the tubes is connected at its upper end to the dirty water return nozzle and in open communication therewith and terminates at a point near the bottom of the container and is open to the lower end of the second of the two concentric, radially spaced tubes. The other tube is closed off at the bottom and open at the top and forms an annular passage extending between the tubes and upwardly towards the top of the dump tank. The second tube comprises an aspirator tube, being apertured near its lower end and open to the interior of the container such that liquid stored or accumulated within the container or dump tank to a level above that aperture is aspirated by the return air and dirty water moving first downwardly within the first tube and then upwardly within the annular passage between the first and second tubes such that the mixture of the return dirty water and the liquid within the container is discharged through the open end of the second tube for impact against the container inner surface to separate the gaseous and liquid components thereof when vacuum pressure is applied to the hollow riser tube such that the return fluid in causing the liquid within the container to enter the stream by aspiration, effects filtering of the return fluid stream.